Afraid of the Dark
by MaybeBlue
Summary: America, Canada, France, and England go on a camping trip together, and everything is fine until England suddenly goes missing. Can America get over his fears and find England?
1. Chapter 1

"And then the monster crept towards it's unknowing victim," Arthur said in the creepiest voice he could muster. Judging by Alfred's expression, it was working. He had his arms wrapped tightly around his brother Matthew, and his eyes squeezed firmly shut. Matt was halfheartedly rubbing Alfred's back, staring blankly into the campfire the group sat around. Francis watched them with an air of amusement. "It raised one of its enormous claws…"

"No more! You've got me, okay?" Alfred shouted, tightening his grip around Matt.

"Al… that hurts…can't breath…!" Matt sputtered, trying to keep Alfred from crushing his ribcage.

"Now, now, _mon cher,_ it's just a story. Nothing to be afraid of." Francis smiled and patted Alfred's shoulder. "How about we go to sleep now? It's been a long day."

"Y-yeah. Sleep." Alfred reluctantly released Matt and got up off the bench, and headed for the tents. He would be sharing one with Arthur, while Matt would share the other with Francis. Arthur refused to sleep in the same tent as the 'bloody frog.'

"So did I really scare you that bad?" Arthur teased as he changed into his pajamas.

"You wish. Everyone knows the hero doesn't get scared so easily!"

"Alright." Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm going to make sure the fire's out."

"D-don't take too long."

"Yes, hero." he laughed, unzipping the flap on the tent.

Alfred slid into his sleeping bag and pulled the zipper up as far it would go. He kept his eyes on the tent's flap, waiting for Arthur to come back. His nerves were on edge thanks to that creepy story Arthur had told earlier. Even though Alfred denies it, he has always been scared witless by Arthur's stories. Tonight was no exception. All of a sudden, something fell loudly outside the tent. A cry escaped Alfred's lips and he yanked the sleeping bag over his head.

"Come on, Artie, come back…" he whimpered, leaving the safety of his sleeping bag for a moment to check the tent flap again.

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><p>Arthur looked down into the fire pit. A few embers still glowed brightly in the center. He picked up a half-empty water bottle lying on the ground and used the contents to douse the last of the fire.<p>

"There we go." Arthur tossed the water bottle into a trash bag and started walking back towards the tent. A few steps away from the flap, he tripped on a large tree branch and fell face-first into the dirt. _Great job, you idiot_, he thought to himself. He winced as he rolled over; his ankle felt like it might be sprained. As he laid there rubbing his ankle, an idea formed in his mind. Arthur decided he would have a little bit more fun before going to sleep.

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><p>Alfred was starting to get really worried. It shouldn't take that long to put out a fire, right? He was starting to consider going outside to check on Arthur even though he was still scared out of his mind.<p>

"You can do this, Al. You're the hero! Just take a look outside and see what's holding Artie up. Just a quick look." Alfred said, giving himself a quick pep talk. He picked up the flashlight lying next to his pillow and pulled the zipper on the tent flap open just enough so he could peek outside. The only things that could be seen in the dim moonlight were the outlines of some nearby trees and smoke rising from the fire pit. Alfred turned the flashlight on and swept the beam across their campsite. Arthur was nowhere to be found.

"Artie?" He said weakly. He did another quick sweep of the campsite. Still nothing. _Maybe he went in Matt and Francis's tent, _he thought. Now Alfred knew he had no choice. He HAD to leave the tent. The American nervously unzipped the rest of the flap and gingerly set one foot outside the tent, as if testing to see if anything would come and attack him. When nothing did, he brought his other foot out and closed up the tent behind him before dashing over to the neighboring tent. Alfred didn't bother asking to come in, he just undid the zipper and came inside. Too quickly, because he tripped over one person and landed on top of another.

"OW!"

"-the hell?"

"Get off!" Matthew shoved Alfred.

"What's wrong, _petit frere_?" Francis said sleepily, sitting up.

"It's Arthur, h-he said he was just going to check if the fire was out. He wasn't coming back, so I got nervous and looked outside, and he's gone. I don't know where he went. I don't-"

"Alfred." Francis said, clamping his hands onto Alfred's shoulders. "Just take a deep breath and calm down, okay? It's hard to understand you when you're rambling."

He did as Francis said, trying to calm himself. When he felt a little more collected, he said, "Arthur's gone. We have to go find him!"

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><p>Oh no! Where did Arthur go? What kind of 'fun' is he talking about? You'll have to wait and see in chapter 2! ;)<p>

Please leave a review! I'll give you a cookie! :D


	2. Chapter 2

The search party left the tent with Francis leading, and Matt and Alfred following close behind. They started by briefly looking around the campsite.

"Hey guys, wasn't there a big branch lying here?" Matt said, pointing to a spot by the fire pit. "I left it here so I could use it for the fire tomorrow night."

"Now that you mention it, there was." Alfred said. He aimed his flashlight at the area Matt indicated, and spotted an odd looking mark in the dirt. It was like something had been dragged away, making several long, thin scratches in the soil. The trail of scratches led into the forest behind the tents.

"Why don't we start by following these marks?" Alfred said, pointing out the marks to the other two.

"Good idea. Let's go." Francis and Matt nodded.

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><p>The three had wandered quite far from their campsite, following the rough trail. They called out Arthur's name several times, receiving no answer. Alfred was beyond worried now, frantically sweeping the beam of his flashlight into the surrounding forest looking for any sign of Arthur. Then, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.<p>

He turned his flashlight onto a figure, lumbering towards them. It stood just outside the light of the flashlight; an ominous shadow. The figure seemed to be a rather large human, until it came closer. The creature had many grotesquely gnarled fingers on its hands, that came to a point at the ends. Its head had two gleaming red eyes set deep in its head, and its mouth was hanging open slightly, revealing several long incisors.

"G-g-guys…" Alfred whimpered, pointing to the figure. The other two looked to where he was pointing, and gasped in surprise.

"What is that?" Matt cried out.

"Who are you?" Francis said, moving to stand protectively in front of Matt and Alfred. The figure stopped, and then answered with a deep, ethereal growl. It held something up with one of its contorted hands; the missing tree branch. The creature tossed the branch towards them, and it landed with a heavy _thump._ Matt turned his flashlight on the branch. It was covered in something dark and red; Alfred lost his composure then. He couldn't contain his panic any longer, and he screamed as loud and long as he could. When the last of the air left his lungs and he was quiet again, someone was laughing.

"That was great! I got you guys good!" The figure said. There a was a sudden bright flash, and then Arthur took a step towards the unsettled group, a smile spread across his lips.

"Was that really necessary, Arthur?" Francis asked, his tone dripping with displeasure. Matt released a relieved sigh. Alfred's knees gave out and he flopped onto the ground.

"I was just having a little fun. To go along with the story I told earlier." He said with a smirk. Arthur walked a little closer to the group, cringing with each step as he put on his twisted ankle.

"What did you do to your leg?" Matt asked.

"Nothing really, I just tripped. It actually gave me the idea to pull this little prank."

"Because it helped make you look like some kind of monster?"

"Exactly." Arthur winked. Alfred crossed his arms, an irritated pout on his face. He had been honestly scared by Arthur, but he didn't want to admit it. The hero isn't supposed to be scared of anything! But it was pretty unfair that Arthur had used magic...

"Well now that you're done, Arthur," Francis growled. He wasn't happy about having to get up and look for the Brit, especially since he had been in the middle of a particularly nice dream. Well, nice by Francis' standards. With a wave, he said "I'm going back to sleep. _Bonne nuit_!"

Arthur snickered. Matt started to follow Francis, and Arthur was about to do the same when he noticed Alfred hadn't moved from his spot in the dirt.

"You know, we're going to leave you here if you don't follow." Arthur called to Alfred. Jumping in realization, the blonde quickly got up off the ground and ran after Matt and Francis. Arthur let out a quiet laugh.

"At least after all this time, there's still one part of you that hasn't changed, Alfred."

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><p>You're so mean, Arthur XP<p>

Thanks for reading chapter 2! Even though I haven't gotten very many reviews, the ones that are there have made me very happy! So if you could, please leave a review. Feedback is my fuel! I might add one more chapter, just to tie up the camping trip. Which may include some UsUK or FrCan, or both...You'll just have to wait and see! Thanks again! -MaybeBlue


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